Wednesday, April 28, 2010

If you are driving down the road and see a white 1999 Freightliner FLD with trailer proclaiming “Bruce Greenquist for President” – you may wonder who that is, and what party he’s with.

You’ll be surprised to find out that Bruce Greenquist isn’t a member of ANY party and in fact – he’s the guy driving that rig.

Bruce is an OOIDA member and owner-operator from Backus, MN. He’s single, with no experience in politics and no political affiliation.

His friends talked him into running for president of the United States.

Bruce makes no bones about it, he’s not a politician, he’s a trucker. And a darned interesting guy.

He stopped by the OOIDA headquarters Monday on his way from San Antonio to St. Louis with an interesting blanket-wrapped museum load – from the Vatican, no less.

The exhibit features 2,000 years of Vatican art and history, including works by artists such as Michelangelo and Bernini.

It’s called “Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art.” According to its website, it is composed of nearly 200 rare artworks, historical objects and cultural artifacts from the collections of the Vatican, many of which have never been allowed outside of Rome. There are some special objects never before on display, even at the Vatican.

Bruce’s 1999 Freightliner FLD is one of nine other trucks moving the exhibit. He was headed to the St. Louis Museum of History – one of three places in the U.S. that will feature the exhibit to the public. Greenquist says the exhibit includes the remains of two of the disciples of Jesus Christ – St. Peter and St. Paul.

By the time you read this, Bruce will be in St. Louis and will have delivered his extraordinary cargo, a load that came along as a result of an Internet load board.

“My friend found it, but had to let it go because it required pick up in San Antonio on Friday and deliver in St. Louis on Tuesday. That’s only 900 miles, and some guys can’t take as much as four days to do that,” said Greenquist. “I took it and then when I found out what a special load it was, I called my friend. He’s a deeply spiritual man and sure was kicking himself.”

Greenquist said the exhibit had been moved 11 times all over the globe, only three times in the U.S.

So here’s a guy who gets cool loads and apparently really likes his job as a trucker. Why would he want to give all that up to live in Washington, DC? The truth, he says, is that being president should not mean he would have to give up trucking to be president. He doesn’t believe lawmakers should be professional politicians but be ordinary folks who go back home after serving in DC.

He admits he has no chance of being elected, but he passionately believes it might inspire other “ordinary non-political citizens” to reclaim the process of representation and – most of all – to vote.

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